Oswego County looking to become wireless

With phases one and two completed and “wire-free,” Oswego County’s government offices are approaching their third and final phase of the wireless project.

Chris Gosek

With phases one and two completed and “wire-free,” Oswego County’s government offices are approaching their third and final phase of the wireless project.

This final phase has the Mexico Department of Social Services undergoing the same updating process which has already transformed seven county government facilities in the vicinity of the city of Oswego. Phase two included Fulton’s Energy Recovery Facilities and the County Building.

The ultimate goal of the wireless project is to replace the county facilities’ high-speed data lines with a wireless service. The update will not only be saving the county from high monthly phone bills, but it will also open up the systems, allowing for easier access and more traffic on the high-bandwidth lines. Completed in December 2007, the second phase will save an estimated $16,000 annually.

Director of Central Services Rick Hogan said that the Fulton project was highly successful, and users noted a very strong signal between the Oswego and Fulton facilities.

Looking toward the final phase of the project, Hogan explained, “At this time, due to the great distance the signal would be traveling, we need to find a tower location in the Mexico area.”

According to Hogan, the signal would go from Oswego to the 911 tower located in Hastings and would then have to connect to a tower near Mexico. Discussions with the vendor that assisted in the previous two phases revealed that the terrain between these points makes a third tower a necessity to ensure a strong signal at the social services building.

One option is an unused telephone tower on Route 69 in the Parish/Amboy area. The tower could be close enough to work for the Mexico project. Another possible option would tie into plans to replace the countywide emergency radio system, an issue of high priority in recent months. If this project were to move forward, Hogan added, there may be an available tower in the Mexico area. However, he did not feel that it was economically feasible to put up a new 250-foot tower in that area at this time.

Improving the lines of communication is the the greatest concern as the update moves into phase three. Speaking on this, Hogan said, “with Mexico, we have a great number of users that all funnel back through the current 1.5 megabyte line. With the volume of users we have, the line is easily clogged up. With the wireless link, we’d be looking at about an 8 megabyte line, which would allow much more access.” He added that the project would also cut monthly bill costs as the first two phases did, with an estimated $8,400 annually being shaved off of expenses.

While the need for a tower in the area certainly is an obstacle that must be overcome to move forward with the wireless project, Hogan is hopeful to at least see some action on the last phase over the course of this year.

“Right now, it’s really unknown whether and when we can go ahead with the project,” said Hogan, “but we hope to see at least some movement on it this year.”
Another project that Hogan was being “kicked around” would see the county offer broadband Internet service to areas where it is not currently available. He said that this project is in its “very early preliminary stages,” but could certainly become a reality somewhere down the road.

Further addressing the broadband project, Hogan said, “Every year prices are decreasing to offer wireless broadband. It is progressively getting to where it could become cost-effective for a county or a private entity to attempt such a project.” He added, “It would certainly be a good economic tool for the development of businesses in these areas that do not currently have access.”

Hogan mentioned he has been looking at the possibilities of the project with director of Oswego County Community Development, Tourism and Planning Dave Turner. He also said that the state is currently getting behind ideas such as this one, offering $15 million in budget grant funding for use in similar projects, adding “I believe Dave (Turner) may be searching for funding, if we can for sure find a way to use it on this.”

Although it appears that neither of these projects will be completed anytime soon, Hogan seemed optimistic and somewhat excited to eventually see them move forward.